welcome to nhk world news line. i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hero. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is joining talks in geneva to try to help negotiators reach a deal over iran's nuclear program. authorities in china have the man they expect was involved in a deadly bombing outside a communist party building. and the strongest typhoon of the year has hit the philippines

and residents are running for cover. the u.s. secretary of state is joining talks over iran's nuclear program. john kerry is trying to assist negotiators from iran and six major countries reach a breakthrough deal. kerry changed his schedule and flew to geneva after a visit to the middle east. iranian negotiators are meeting with their counterparts from the u.s., russia, china, britain, france, and germany. the negotiators from the six countries want iran to scale back its uranium enrichment program to alleviate concerns over the country's suspected development of nuclear weapons. in return, the u.s. and other countries say they might consider relaxing sanctions that crippled iran's economy. u.s. president barack obama says there is a possibility that relaxation of sanctions could be phased in. >> we can provide them some very modest relief, but keeping the

sanctions -- keeping the core sanctions in place. >> the iranian foreign minister has also expressed hopes of clinching an agreement. >> i believe if there is a political rift, we can have something we can call an agreement, that is mutually acceptable to all. >> sources close to the talks say the two sides still remain apart on how sanctions can be lifted, but negotiators hope john kerry's participation will add momentum to the talks. hardliners in iran are warning people not to be deceived by the overtures from the u.s. and its allies. they're trying to renew the anti-american campaign symbolized by the seizure three decades ago. they want to reverse the public opinion spurred on by the

election of hassan rouhani. >> reporter: banners have been brought down across the capital. >> translator: there used to be an anti-u.s. banner by that monitor. we've obviously taken it down. >> reporter: young iranians are now immersed in western culture. many are in favor of better relations with the u.s. >> translator: we're trying to open the dialogue with the u.s. it's not right to call out "death to america." >> it's wrong to instill that slogan in the minds of the

people. >> reporter: a former security leader has also changed his view. >> translator: it's time to end the tension between the two nations and respect each other's national interests. >> reporter: authorities are making sure this does not go unnoticed. here is a former u.s. embassy building. >> translator: america is a liar. we cannot trust that country. >> reporter: a sign of change in

their campaign, too. they took down the call for anti-americanism. they offered a prize of 2,500 euros, nearly as much as an average annual salary in the country. and they invited a singer for young people. he seems to be acting as a mediator. he recently denounced the american controversy of

negotiations with the u.s. >> translator: these negotiators are on a difficult mission. and they're giving their utmost effort. >> reporter: how the iranians will judge rouhani's efforts will be judged on the outcome of the decisions of his nuclear program. they are looking to ease the sanctions that are crippling iran's economy. police in central china have arrested a man in connection with a bombing near a communist party building. the state-run xinhua news agency says investigators found bomb materials in the man's home and the agency says he admitted to the crime. a series of bombs went off on wednesday in the city of

taiyuan. one person was killed, eight others injured. investigators say the explosives contained metal balls of nails and they say whoever was responsible was acting on a judge against the party and government officials. xinhua says police found evidence at the man's home including a device to set off bombs in a car they believe was used in the incident. the agency says the man is 41 years old from the city, and has been convicted this the past of burglary. the bombing attracted attention across china and around the world. it came in a week in an ins accident in which five people died. authorities want to maintain order ahead of communist party meetings that start on saturday in beijing. the strongest typhoon of the year is pummelling the philippines. their president is warning the people to stay on high alert for what many fear could be major destruction. communications are down in the hardest hit area.

at least three people have been confirmed dead. kathleen ocampo has more from manila. >> reporter: typhoon haiyan is battering the philippines. violent rain has hit the islands near the typhoon center. reports are coming in of landslides, power outages, and downed telephone lines. 125,000 people have evacuated throughout the country. schools have cancelled classes. local leaders are telling people to flee the storm. >> translator: we are prepared, together with the residents here, for the coming typhoon. >> reporter: the president has ordered government officials to do all they can to minimize

casualties. >> reporteror ror. >> translator: to minimize damage from the typhoon, we should all help each other. please cooperate with the authorities. if you sense any danger, evacuate immediately. coastal authorities should not go into the water. i ask all of you not to expose yourself to danger. >> reporter: haiyan is bringing back bad memories of the storm that hit the philippines if 2011 and 2012. both killed more than 1,000 people. forecasters say the typhoon will avoid a direct hit on the flood-prone capital manila. but even here, the wind is strong. winds at the center of haiyan are even stronger than the storm in 2011 and 2012. the philippine government here says large damage will occur. kathleen okampo, nhk world,

manila. >> for more, we turn to robert. what's the latest? >> the storm system is pulling off here towards the west. i first want to actually show a satellite imagery from earlier on this morning. this is right when the storm made landfall as one of the strongest storms, not only in 2013, but in recorded history out here. and you can see the eye here. we were just showing some video out of there, some of the initial reports are due to the effects of that storm surge, now finally starting to come in. throughout the day, communication has been blacked out here. phone lines down. the initial reports saying that there is just complete destruction in some of these low-lying areas on the coastline. so we're going to continue to monitor this as it will pull off towards the west, improving conditions behind it. it is now dark out here, so definitely recovery efforts are still going to be in place out until days to combine this. now it's holding off towards the west.

moving through at this time. manila still could be seeing some tropical storm strength type winds. starting to see some rainfall in that area. looks like the winds are tapering off. still is still pulling off towards the west. the winds are going to continue to kick up. also high waves, up to ten meters high around that center of circulation. so along the western coast and the east coast here, you could be seeing still the risk of some storm surge. not as bad as we saw farther off toward the east, but you do want to say away from low-lying areas. these showers are still going to be lingering through saturday. the good news, take a look at how fast this is moving. 40 kilometers per hour. for a storm this far south, that is moving at a very fast pace. this is going to rush away from the philippines. by sunday, actually starting to impact vietnam. still a very strong, potentially violent typhoon out here,

bringing the risk of flooding and landslides. >> robert, thanks. czsyria's state-run media s government troops have taken control of a stronghold south of damascus. opposition fighters have used a town as a base to attack the capital. but the syrian army has retaken the area. opposition units have reportedly been forced to pull out. opposition activists say the lebanese militant group hezbollah and shia fighters from iraq support the groups. diplomats have been trying to bring representatives of the government and opposition together for peace talks but they have not been able to walk out the details. observers fear prolonged fighting will worsen. inspectors overseeing the destruction of syria's arsenal

of chemical weapons have just one sight left to check. they couldn't get into a couple of facilities. the syrian gvt provided them with video of one of the sites. inspectors wanted to visit 23 sites. the syrian government declared that the facilities were used for producing and storing chemical agents. but fighting in the civil war prevented the experts from getting into the last two, so they missed a late october deadline. the inspectors examined video the government provided of one of the sights. they concluded that the production equipment there had been removed and dismantled. the facility was reported to have been destroyed in fighting. the inspectors have turned their attention to the last sight, they believe the equipment there has also been removed and dismantled. but they say they need to verify the information. sales of chinese manufactured goods have been brisk overseas. ron madison is here with the latest on those data. >> you may remember this comes not that long after the country

reported the fastest pace of economic growth in three quarters, but things are humming along quite well there, gene. chinese exports rose in october for the first time in two months, partly due to growing exports to the united states and japan. chinese customs authorities say october exports increased 5.6% year on year, totaling more than $185 billion. imports came to about $154 billion. that was a gain of 7.6%. the latest data showed that the total value of trade from january through october climbed 7.6%. that's a little bit shy of the government's target of an 8% rise for the full year. the strength of the chinese currency and higher personnel costs have eroded the country's export competitiveness. an economic slowdown and emerging nations is also hurting trade a bit. let's get a check of the markets now, starting with currencies. investors are eagerly awaiting important economic data from the u.s.

the dollar is trading in a pretty narrow range against the yen. the u.euro remains under a bit pressure against the yen. a rate cut by the european central bank as well as a ratings downgrade for france by standard and poors are behind the euro's weakness. the news on france's downgrade is also hurting sentiment in european stock markets. losses for the frankfurt market up. now the decline came after industrial output in france turned out to be weaker in september than many economists had expected. tokyo's nikkei shed 1%. t four out of five major japanese trading houses have

posted strong net profit gains in the first half of this fiscal year. they've benefited from the yen's decline. mitsubishi corporation reported a year on year increase of more than 30% in yen terms in the sixth month through september. three others showed sharp decreases. the company is not all that worried about a slowdown in the chinese economy. >> translator: we think the price of coal has already bottomed out. and it's going to rise gradually in the future. >> the substantial first-half profit gains are also attributed to business in grain and other food-related transaction as well as auto sales in asia. japanese lawmakers are summoning the head of mizuho bank before a panel. they're going to be questioning him about loans his bank made to gang members.

the house of representatives, the national affairs committee plans to hold an intensive hearing on the issuing next wednesday. key panel members have decided to ask president sato and others to testify as unsworn witnesses. the lawmakers plan to ask sato why the bank failed after finding out who the borrowers were. they also expect to ask how the bank came to make a false report about the loan, which totalled some $2 million. mizuho initially said his top officials were not informed about the problem. the bank later changed that explanation, though. u.s. government officials are counting the cost of october's federal shutdown. they say worker furloughs and national park closures led to billions of dollars lost. analysts from the white house budget office released their estimates on the impact of the 15-day partial closure of government services. people were unable to visit sites like the lincoln memorial and statue of liberty. the officials say that caused

more than $500 million in lost revenue. about 850,000 federal employees at one stage were kept home from work, costing an estimated $2 billion. they also incollected private sector estimates, ranging somewhere between 2 and $6 billion in output. they are warning white house republicans against a recurrence. politicians agreed on a stopgap budget through january 15th. they'll need to have a fresh agreement if they hope to avoid another shutdown after that. that is going to wrap it up for business. let's get your check of the markets.

every morning, investors turn our attention to asia. markets around the world follow. >> from the decision that could change the course of an economy. >> the latest trends. >> up to the minute market reports. >> analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight every day, here on "newsline." japanese astronaut boarded

the international space station on thursday. researchers from 15 countries including japan used its laboratory for experiments that can only be conducted in space. the people who developed the space station promised it would yield important research results. but questions are now being raised about whether the benefits of the program are worth the cost. yugi osawa has more. >> and we have liftoff of the soyuz. >> reporter: the soyuz carried the astronaut to the international space station at an altitude of about 400 kilometers. it was the start of the japanese astronaut's six-month mission. this is his fourth time in space and his second all-time stay on the iss.

he will take command in the last two months of his stay. he will be the first captain from asia. >> each year, one of us has something special that no one else can do better. i'm confident we'll be able to utilize all the expertise and talent and experience that we all have. >> reporter: he will conduct several experiments during his time onboard. they include observing the effects of zero gravity on the bones of kiwi fish. wakata will also converse with a speaking humanoid robot. researchers think this can be used on long missions to mars and other destinations. numerous experiments have been conducted aboard the iss since

the first one in 2000. researchers always hope their work will result in technological analysis. scientists say they can develop drugs more quickly in a weightless environment because it allows them to accurately analyze the structure of viruses. >> translator: the international space station is the only place where it can create a microgravity environment. the lab is essential. >> reporter: despite such high expectations, some are questioning the high cost of operating the station. japan contributes $400 million a year to the program. that's the third largest amount after the u.s. and russia. japan has invested $8 billion so far. but critics say experiments conducted aboard the iss have not yielded significant results

despite the hefty price tag. a japanese government panel on space diplomacy has decided to slash the budget for the space station. japanese officials have not decided what role they will play in the program after 2020. but one has assessed man space flights are important. >> translator: i strongly believe that in the long run, japan must nurture its technology. japan is devoted to science and technology. efforts like this must continue, so we can contribute to the world. >> reporter: the international space station has been a source of inspiration and breakthroughs with such results for many years. wataka's time in the captain's seat comes as people are casting a sharp eye over the cost of

putting him there. robert is back with the weather. robert? >> we are still watching this very violent and dangerous typhoon out here. still moving through the philippines, actually out there towards the south china sea at this time, but lingering rain showers behind it. something we'll continue to watch throughout the next several days. also want to talk about what's going on elsewhere in the world. we do have several other areas of severe weather. over towards the americas, actually, a snowstorm is currently occurring. starting to move out of the rockies and portions of idaho and montana here. you're looking at blizzard-like conditions, about 25 centimeters of snowfall possible. you see that tight gradient. that's indicating about 65 kilometer per hour winds moving through the dakotas. there is a possibility of whiteout conditions. a wintery mix moving out there through portions of the western great lakes.

you're going to have a rain/snow mix here, especially through the overnight hours. more snow could be accumulating as that pushes off there towards the east. behind it, still some rain showers lingering there across portions of the pacific northwest. outside of that, though, as far as americas go, high pressure is dominating. oklahoma city with a high of 18. washington, d.c. a little bit cooler from yesterday. same for those of you there in new york. but it is some sunny skies. yesterday you were looking at rain showers there into washington, d.c. and new york. even over towards atlanta. 16 and some sunny skies on your friday. let's talk about europe where we have been watching a pretty decent low pressure here towards the north. seeing some gusty winds over towards northern portions of the british isles, over towards scotland about 60 miles per hour here. decent winds continuing to report here as this low pressure

starts to decent. into the alps you can be seeing some snow. in eastern europe, you are seeing some rain, but temperatures are warming up and it does look like some clear skies will be coming in over the weekend. that's a look at weather. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. until next time, goodbye.

>> one of the worst typhoons on record has hit the philippines. four people have died. the u.s. secretary of state is joining the geneva talks over the iranian nuclear program. and france's credit rating has been downgraded one notch to aa, dealing a further blow to president hollande's government. swiss scientists have released results that they